


We May Have Made a Bit of a Mistake

by agaybloodmage



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: M/M, casual burning of a body, just a hint of graphic offscreen death, self-indulgent baby fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 17:47:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17647073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agaybloodmage/pseuds/agaybloodmage
Summary: Another ZevWarden baby fic! There's no such thing as too many adopting-a-baby fics, is there?





	We May Have Made a Bit of a Mistake

_Nothing compares to the way your heart pounds when you end a life!_ Zevran thought, smiling. He and his Warden, the mage Redren, were currently following a lead on a Crow assassin that had been operating in Ferelden, and after a good month, had finally reduced the Crow’s numbers by one.

“So, would you like to go get a drink?” Zevran asked, looking up at Redren as he wiped some of the woman’s blood off his gloves.

“Of course! Where were you thinki-” He trailed off.

“Redren?” Zevran looked concerned. “What is it?”

“I thought I sensed something,” he said quietly, wandering off to a back room and leaving Zevran confused. Zevran simply waited in the small living room next the the bloodied corpse, only running to the back when he heard the never good cry of:

“Oh,  _shit!”_

“Redren, what’s wrong?” Zevran asked, noticing how his Warden looked like the Archdemon was back when he saw him standing in the doorway.

“Zevran,” he smiled, his eyes screaming. “We may have made a bit of a mistake.” His hands were placed on Zevran’s shoulders, keeping the smaller man out of the back room by sheer willpower.

“Redren dear, you’re frightening me,” Zevran said slowly. “Please, what’s back there that’s got you so-” he was cut off by the sound of a baby starting to cry. He and Redren swallowed hard at the same time. Redren quickly let go of Zevran, hurrying back to the old crib. Zevran sighed.

“My Warden, just leave it,” he sighed. “I know it may be hard, but…” He trailed off when Redren turned his head so fast it looked like it could snap.

“No!” He yelled, startling the baby further. “We’re not just ‘leaving it’!” He reached down to pick up the child, setting his staff on the floor to cradle it in both his arms.

“Alright, we’ll bring it to an orphanage.”

“I,” he was still looking down at the crying child, rocking it gently. “I can’t do that,” he muttered.

“You can and you have to,” Zevran sighed.

“But we just killed its mother!” He looked horrified. “It looks healthy and safe, which means that that woman was a good mum!” He shushed the baby, and Zevran could see tears forming in the Warden’s eyes as well.

“Please,” Zevran sighed again, walking up to Redren. “What do you propose? That we raise it as our own?” Zevran laughed, but fell silent as he noticed how Redren wasn’t laughing. “That was a joke.”

“It was a good suggestion.” He held the baby up to his chest, its tiny fingers grabbing onto his robe as it quieted.

“I did not mean for it to be!” Zevran yelled.

“Hush!” Redren whispered harshly. “He’s, I think it’s a he, is falling asleep!” Zevran watched in sad amusement as the mage cradled the tiny thing, bouncing it like a mother would.

“We can’t,” Zevran said quietly.

“Why not?” Redren asked, looking at his companion.

“We haven’t the faintest idea of how to care for babies!”

“You might not,” Redren sighed. “But I do. My Auntie would hold me like this to quiet me down,” he whispered. Zevran remembered his Warden speaking of the old apostate witch who took him in after his mother had died, hiding him for seven years until the Templars took him to the Circle. Zevran could hardly imagine what he felt like. Sure, Redren had been the one to kill his mother, but he’d been five years old and scared. He must’ve felt something looking at that child in his arms. A guilt, maybe, for taking away a mother, but likely a want to save the child from growing up abused in an orphanage, similar to what he’d gone though in his mother’s whorehouse. Zevran couldn’t help but feel the same type of pity for the poor thing.

“Are you sure?” He asked, walking closer to Redren to take a look at the infant. He had curly red hair but tan skin, and Zevran couldn’t help but smile at how much he seemed to be a blend of himself and his partner.

“I am,” Redren sighed, looking down at the child.

“Alright,” Zevran said, sitting down on the floor, Redren following suit. “But tell me one thing. I want to know why you want this so badly.”

“There’s a lot of reasons,” he said, looking at Zevran with sad eyes. “But I think the main one is that I’ve always wanted to be a dad.” The response startled Zevran. Redren laughed quietly at the shock of his face. “I always wanted to do what my mum never did, which was give a kid a happy life. I wanted to be a dad like my father never was, someone to really be a dad and not just a nameless man passing through a brothel,” he spat. “And when Morrigan, when she…”

“It’s okay, my dear, you don’t need to finish that,” Zevran said gently, putting a hand on Redren’s shoulder as he choked up.

“No,” He shook his head. “I want you to know, since I never really told you. When Morrigan told me we had to conceive a child, I let myself be comforted by the fact that her baby would have a dad. But then she said that she never wanted to see me!” He held the infant in his arms close. “That I was never to be in its life. And I  _hate_ that. How another child has to grow up fatherless.” Zevran leaned against his lover’s side.

“I see,” he nodded. Zevran had never given a second thought to what had become of Morrigan’s child. Redren never spoke of it, so Zevran had assumed he didn’t care. Foolish thing to do, since things people don’t want to talk about are always the ones they care most about. Zevran looked at the child next to him, watching him wiggle in his sleep, making little hums and breathing softly.

“Isn’t he cute?” Redren whispered fondly. The look in his eyes was enough to sway Zevran. His Warden never looked like that, so soft and loving. It was a different type of fondness in his eyes when he looked at Zevran.

“I suppose so, yes,” Zevran wasn’t a good judge of how cute a baby was. “But we should get going. Don’t forget that there’s a dead Crow in the parlor,” he laughed quietly.

“Ah, yes. Nearly forgot,” Redren said. “Can you hold him a second?” He asked when they stopped by the dead woman. He gently passed the child to Zevran. He leaned down, dipping his hands into the pool of blood, and spread a controlled flame over the body, burning it without smoke. He wiped his hands off on the floor and stood up. He took the baby back, with Zevran more than willing to hand him over. As cute as his Warden was, sometimes his magic was pretty terrifying, so Zevran thanked the Maker every day he was on Redren’s good side.

Eventually, they reached their shared little home, with the baby still sleeping. Zevran wondered how he could take a nap for an hour while he was being bumped up and down as Redren walked.

“Mama?” The tiny thing piped up.

“No, not mama,” Redren sighed.

“Mama!” The baby was grabbing onto Redren’s long ginger hair, pulling some of into his mouth. Thankfully, Redren’s hair was the same colour as the dead assassin’s, so the baby might’ve thought he was his mom.

“Sweetheart,” Redren laughed gently, “I’m not your mama, but I suppose I’m your dad now.”

“Da.. da?”

“Yes,” he smiled. “And he’s your dad, too,” Redren shifted to point at Zevran, who was feeling a bit put on the spot. _I’m not ready to be a father!_

“Dad..dy?” The baby’s cheeks were puffed out a bit in concentration.

“Uh huh,” Redren laughed. “Very good!” For all his hesitancy, Zevran was actually beginning to like the idea of taking care of the child. So few things made Redren happy, and seeing his eyes light up when the baby laughed melted Zevran’s heart.

“What should we name him?” Zevran asked, looking down at the tiny thing. Redren hummed in thought. Zevran figured he’d have to shoot down quite a few ideas, since Redren didn’t have the best track record with names. He’d named his mabari  _Dog._  Said mabari was probably outside napping in their tiny back garden.

“What about Malakai?” Zevran blinked a couple times.

“I, I like it,” he nodded. “Any special reason?”

“Just someone I used to know is all,” Redren looked down at the newly named Malakai with a sad smile. Zevran didn’t push it.

“Malakai,” he said, standing in front of the two. “It’s very nice to meet you.” He put a finger above the child, watching as Malakai grabbed it. “That is my finger, yes,” he laughed as Malakai stared at it. His wide eyes were a soft brown, sparkling with curiosity. How he seemed so content with his new home certainly confused Zevran, but he was definitely happy that Malakai was fine.

 

* * *

 

The first couple of nights were slightly rough, with Malakai waking every couple of hours. Dog had taken to the new addition well, sleeping next to the makeshift bassinet. It rested on the floor on the other side of Zevran and Redren’s bedroom, about five feet from the small fireplace. At first, it was Redren always getting up to check on Malakai, to change or feed him, but eventually, Zevran got over any anxiety he had and started to help out at night as well. He had been hesitant, afraid he’d drop or injure the baby, as he’d never handled one before. As it turned out, Malakai had been fine with whatever his new daddy did, even if the bottle was too hot or he was jostled a bit more than wanted when being picked up.

If anything, he’d grown to love being bounced by Zevran, who’d spend hours reading with Malakai on his leg as he bounced him. Redren seemed to be very happy with all this, watching the two of them develop a real relationship.

“And what are you staring at, my dear?” Zevran asked, looking up from the papers he’d collected on the Crow assassins’ whereabouts.

“I’m simply watching my lover and my child looking absolutely adorable together,” he chuckled. “Is that such a crime?”

“Malakai is adorable, I am handsome!” Zevran protested.

“Hmm,” Redren paused, putting a hand to his chin. “Nope, you’re cute too. Sorry, but I don’t decide these things!”

“Yes you do!” Zevran sighed jokingly. “Honestly…” He looked down at Malakai. “Do you think your Dada is right, or your daddy?” Malakai just laughed, reaching up to try to grab at Zevran’s blond hair.

“Daddy!”

“Ha! I’ve won!”

“Dada!”

“Another tie,” Redren shook his head in amusement. “Honestly, he doesn’t know how to pick sides.” Zevran stood up, walking over to where Redren sat in an armchair. He sat down on the mage’s lap, thankful for his small build. Dog wandered over to the three, curling up at Redren’s feet. Zevran leaned back against his lover’s chest, happily cuddled against Redren with Malakai on his lap.

“You know,” he said softly, “I was so hesitant at first that this would be a horrid idea.” He tilted his head back to look at Redren. “I couldn’t even remember the last time I so much as interacted with a baby!” He shifted so that his legs were slung over the armrest and his hips were nestled between Redren’s thighs. “I never have imagined that I would have loved it so much.”

“I’m so happy to hear you say that,” Redren smiled, wrapping one arm around Zevran and placing his other hand where Malakai could grab at his fingers. The soft snores of the mabari and the crackling of the fire were lulling Zevran to sleep, with Redren’s gentle breathing pushing comfortingly on his side. Malakai seemed to have fallen asleep, and by the darkness outside, it was apparent that his bedtime was long since passed.

After a while, he felt himself being shifted as Redren stood up, carrying him bridal style to the bedroom, putting Malakai in his bassinet after setting Zevran down gently on the bed. He could hear a soft  _goodnight_ being whispered before he came back to bed, settling under the covers. Zevran felt Redren’s arm fall over him, pulling the elf towards him for comfort. Zevran gingerly kissed his Warden’s forehead before blowing out the candle on the bedside table. Dog had made his way to Malakai, and started to snore again.

The quiet breathing of all of his sleeping family members brought a genuine smile to his face as he shifted back to take his usual position of the little spoon. This peace was something he knew he’d hold on to as long as he could, as tightly as possible.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow okay yet ANOTHER old fic to be uploaded! I do hope you enjoyed! Written for ZevWarden week 2017, so it's not exactly canon for my precious Warden involved, but it's still cute!


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